Policy, Planning & Development Officer, Community Justice Glasgow
The voices of those who experience justice are key to a system that works – those who experience know What Works to reduce their offending or risk of further.
Community Justice Partners in Glasgow have always understood the value in engaging with those who directly experience the justice system in order to improve services for better outcomes. Indeed, the Partnership has recently invested in Your Voice which you can read all about in the article RESPECTING YOURVOICE FOR BETTER OUTCOMES.
In this vein, I was pleased to recently see the report to the Sentencing Council of Scotland on the qualitative research undertaken between July 2019 and January 2020 by the University of West of Scotland into the Attitudes of Young People to the Sentencing of Young People in Scotland. The research was commissioned to explore the opinions of young people, including those with convictions, on sentencing and the draft sentencing guideline. The findings will inform progress of the next stages of the guideline which will be submitted to the High Court for approval in due course.
You can CLICK THE PICTURE LINK BELOW to read the full report.
The main findings/attitudes from the young people who participated included support for:
- rehabilitation as the primary purpose of sentencing young people;
- sentences having a part in repairing the harm done to and protecting victims and communities.
“When asked about what sentences should be trying to do for victims, responses included statements that sentences should “bring justice to the victim” and should show that something is being done in response to the offence, including repairing the harm done. Participants felt that the victim should be listened to, and that help should be provided to the victim as well as the person who had offended.”
- a young person’s maturity, capacity for change, and their best interests being taken into account;
- a graduated approach to age rather than a cut-off point (i.e. the age at which someone is dealt with through the youth and adult systems);
- childhood family circumstances and relationship being considered (a broader understanding of *Adverse Childhood Experiences);
- Community Payback Orders with supervision as the best option from a range of sentencing options (addressing the needs of young people);
- prison as a last resort only for protection of the public/serious offences – (viewed as punishment without learning and unlikely to achieve rehabilitation); and
- the introduction of an option that would provide mental health support as part of an integrated sentence;
*For more information on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) you can read the articles (2019-20):
MEETING THE CHALLENGES FROM THE ROOTS UP
SEVERE AND MULTIPLE DEPRIVATION – AT THE ROOT OF OFFENDING BEHAVIOUR
